White Flowers of Winhill
by forest-owl
Summary: This tells the story of Raine and Ellone in Winhill. And a stranger is brought into their lives and changes everything. REVISED EDITION NOW UP
1. Don't worry Elle

**Chapter One - Don't worry Elle**

_Authors Note: I do not own any of the character's in this Fan Fiction, nor do I own Final Fantasy. They belong to and are copyrighted by Squaresoft/Square-Enix. Please R&R!_

A small girl ran through the field of flowers. She was wearing a light blue dress and light yellow shoes. She had short brown hair that didn't reach to her shoulders. She was called Ellone.

Ellone's parents had died a few years ago in a car crash in the city. They had left Ellone in the care of the next door neighbour while they went away for a few days. They died the night they went away when a criminal, trying to escape the police, crashed his get-away car into the front of their car.

Ellone's father, who had been driving, died instantly. While Ellone's mother died a few hours later in hospital. The criminal survived. He was then tried and later charged with their murder as well as the theft he had commited just before the crash.

A pair of police officers drove out to the sleepy town of Winhill, where Ellone was, and told the next door neighbour about the car crash. It was later decided that Ellone, who had no living relatives, would stay in the care of the next door neighbour who became her legal guardian. That neighbour, was Raine Leonhart.

Raine, who had no family of her own either, raised Ellone like her daughter. As Ellone grew up, she thought of Raine as both a big sister and a mother. Ellone remembered little, if anything, of her parents. Raine just told her that they had to go away. She would tell her about it all when she was grown up. She was too young now.

Ellone continued running through the field. She loved Winhill. She eventually stopped near the road and sat down amongst the flowers. She lay back and watched the clouds.

She heard a small 'squeak' or 'chirp' sound and sat up. She saw a small chicobo infront of her. Ellone smiled and waved playfully at the chicobo. She got up and went over to it. But as she approached the chicobo it got scared and ran off. Ellone frowned and skipped back home.

"Hey Raine. Guess what. I saw a little chico...bo..." Ellone burst out as soon as she got back to Raine's pub.

Ellone stopped short because she saw Raine arguing with several villagers. Raine had lived in Winhill all her life. She wore black trousers and a white jumper. She had long brown hair, which she kept out of her face with a yellow hairband.

They didn't seem to have noticed her. She also saw a man lying on a home-made stretcher thing which was lying on the stone floor of the pub. He was screaming and crying in pain.

Ellone, un-noticed, walked slowly over to screaming man and bent down. He was covered in blood and cuts. She looked at the man. The man noticed her looking at him and stopped screaming, but tears still ran silently down his face. He looked at her, as though making sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Ellone looked back at the man. She sat down properly on the floor and started crying herself. For the first time, Raine noticed she had come home. Raine turned away from the angry villagers and when she saw Ellone crying she instantly calmed down and forgot the fight.

"Hey, Elle. When did you get home? You shouldn't be here. Oh, baby, come here." Raine said softly and hugged Ellone.

She then, still hugging Ellone, picked her up and then faced the villagers once more. Raine sighed and shook her head slightly.

"Fine, fine. Put him in the bed in the house next door. I'll look after him." She said.

With that, the men picked up the injured man on the stretcher and carried him next door while Raine took Ellone upstairs. She put Ellone on her bed and closed the curtains. She then went back over to Ellone.

"Sshh. Don't worry Elle. He'll be okay. Just have some sleep. You're tired. I'll wake you up for dinner. Just go to sleep." Raine said softly, then kissed Ellone on the forehead.

Ellone curled up her bed and closed her eyes. She quickly drifted off to sleep. Raine went downstairs. She returned a few minutes later with a vase of fresh white flowers. Raine loved these flowers, loved their fragrance. She put the vase on the bedside table next to a sleeping Ellone.


	2. Loire, Laguna Loire

**Chapter Two - Loire, Laguna Loire

* * *

**

He slowly opened his eyes. Light shone in through the gap in the curtains. His hand went up to his forehead and he could feel bandages wrapped around his head. As he turned his head, it throbbed in pain. He slowly sat up and looked around the room. He was in a small cot bed with a patchwork duvet. To his right was a baby's crib and the floor was scattered with old toys and an old quilt. To his left was a table with a mirror on the top. He looked into the mirror from the bed. He looked like hell. He was sweaty, pale and thin.

He looked down. His clothes had been stripped off him, cleaned, folded and put at the foot of the cot bed. He was only in his underwear. He turned his body and hung his legs over the side of the bed. He slowly stood up. His legs immediately buckled under his own weight and the fact that his entire body felt weak. He put a hand on the bed and pulled himself up. He paced himself and managed to balance out his weight so he could stand and walk without falling over. He slowly pulled on his clothes and went over to the window.

"Oh-!" Squeaked a voice to his left.

He turned and saw a small girl with brown hair and a blue dress. She seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn't tell where he knew her. The girl watched him for a moment then said,

"Y-you should be in bed…" very quietly.

He looked over at the tiny bed then back at the girl. He knelt down and smiled at her.

"O-Oh. Have you been looking after me? What's your name?" He asked

The little girl just watched him, not saying a word. He scratched the back off his head.

_Oh geez, _he thought, _I'm no good at this. Kids just hate me…_

"Err… I'm Laguna." He continued

The little girl just continued to stare at him in silence.

"…I'm Elle" She said finally "And it ain't just me who's been looking after ya. Raine has too. She's next door, c'mon!"

And with that, she ran off downstairs. Laguna jumped up and ran after her. He barely made it halfway downstairs when Elle disappeared through the door. As he approached the door, he heard a scream from outside. He rushed out towards the scream. He shielded his eyes while they quickly adjusted to the bright sunlight.

He looked around the square in front of him. Laguna saw Elle sitting on the paved ground with a Caterchipillar advancing on her. Laguna ran forward and reached for his gun. He suddenly realised that he was grasping at thin air because he didn't have his gun. It hadn't been with his clothes.

_Oh well, _he thought,_ I'll have to do without it._

He ran in front of Elle and in between her and the Caterchipillar. When the Caterchipillar got a little closer, he kicked it. But it seemed undeterred. He wasn't very good at hand-to-hand combat. He punched its side; this time it had more of an effect. Laguna moved away from Elle, drawing the Caterchipillar away too. As he drew the Caterchipillar away, it tried to stab him with it's spike, but Laguna managed to evade these attacks.

The monster suddenly lunged forward and whacked Laguna powerfully in the chest. Laguna fell backwards. The Caterchipillar was rearing up to slam its lower body onto Laguna, when he raised his legs and kicked the Caterchipillar from beneath. This sent the Caterchipillar rolling a few feet away. When it stopped, his legs were kicking frantically in the air and it couldn't move. Laguna looked around and saw a knife on a nearby flower stand and grabbed it. He hurried back over to the Caterchipillar and stabbed it several times until it was dead.

Laguna dropped the knife and went back over to Elle. She was standing in the middle of the square. He knelt down and made sure she was okay.

"Ellone! Thank goodness you're alright!" Said a female voice from behind him.

He turned and saw a woman with brown hair rushing towards them. She was wearing black trousers and a white jumper. She scooped Elle up into her arms and cuddled her tightly. She put Ellone down again and turned to Laguna.

"Thank you. Come in, I'm Raine." She said and walked off the building she'd come from.

Laguna followed them into the building. He looked around and saw lots of wooden tables and a bar in this room. It was a pub. This room sparked off lots of memories for him. This was where he had been taken but the men who found him. He remembered seeing a crying girl. _It was Elle!_ He thought. He also remembered this Raine woman agreeing to take care of him.

He looked for Raine and Elle and saw them disappearing up a staircase to his left and through a door. He followed them up and saw Elle sitting on a sofa to his right with Raine standing next to her. This new room was obviously where they lived as it had a sofa and two armchairs, a wardrobe and two beds packed into it.

"How are feeling? Have you fully recovered?" Raine asked

"Huh?" Laguna asked, he was too busy looking around the room.

"I said, how are you feeling?" Raine repeated.

"Err, okay I guess. How's Elle?" He asked

"_Ellone_ is fine. She isn't hurt, thanks to you."

"You don't seem to… fazed by the fact a monster was in your village." Laguna said

"No. It's been happening a lot. Ever since all the men left."

"What happened to 'em all?" He asked

"All the men were sent off to war. The only ones left are either young children, like Ellones age, or elderly men to old to do anything about the problem." Raine told him. "Are you hungry, Mr…."

"Loire. Laguna Loire. But you can call me Laguna. And I am a bit actually, yeah. Thanks Mrs…"

"_Ms_ Leonhart. But call me Raine. Ms Leonhart is my mother."

* * *

Laguna stood in a field of flowers, watching Ellone play. It was several months after he had first met Raine, and he was now fully recovered. Raine didn't like Ellone out by herself in case she got attacked again. Laguna had agreed to go out with her and protect her. Raine had, reluctantly, given Laguna his gun back to fight off any more monsters that appeared.

"Uncle Laguna! Uncle Laguna! Lookie what I found!" Elle said, running over to him.

Ellone had grown very close to Laguna and thought of him as her Uncle. She thought Laguna and Raine should get married.

"What have you found Elle?" Laguna asked bending down.

Ellone handed him a polished yellow stone. Laguna took it in his hands and studied it. He knew what it was as soon as he saw it, but made a big play of it to please Ellone.

"Hmm… This is a very valuable object. Ve-ee-ry powerful. In the wrong hands, it could destroy the world! Boom! Ah, but this one's broken. Good thing too. See this crack here." He said, pointing to a crack in the stone's surface. The stone wasn't really that powerful or valuable, he was trying to make Elle happy.

"But what is it Uncle Laguna?" Elle asked, taking in everything that he said.

"This, is called a Dynamo Stone." He said and gave the broken stone to her.

"Wow! Wait 'till I show Zephyr! He's gonna be so jealous!" Ellone exclaimed gleefully.

"C'mon Elle, let's go home before Raine gets angry." Laguna said, standing up.

They slowly made their way home to the pub. When they got back to the pub, they called out to Raine but got no answer. Laguna lifted Ellone up and sat her on top of the bar. He went upstairs to look for Raine. But she wasn't there. Laguna scratched the back of his head. He went downstairs. He went over to Ellone, and when he reached the bar Raine entered.

"Raine! Raine! Look what I found! Uncle Laguna said it's a Dyno stone! Very powerful!" Ellone exclaimed

Raine had a large bunch of white flowers in her hand and put them on one of the wooden tables in the room. She went over to Ellone and looked at the stone in her hand.

"Laguna! How dare you give Ellone a dangerous and magical object! She could easily hurt herself with this Dyno stone! " Raine angrily said to Laguna, casting him an evil glare.

"It's a Dynamo stone and it's harmless. It's broken and it's not _very_ powerful!" He explained.

"I don't care! You still gave her a potentially dangerous object!" Raine said, taking the stone from Ellone's hand.

Raine picked up her white flowers and headed towards the staircase.

"You got'n trouble" Ellone said to Laguna. "Too Baad"

"Ellone! Use proper English or you'll get in trouble" Raine said as she disappeared up the stairs, the smell of the flowers still floating around the pub.

Sorry it's not very exciting but it will get exciting soon-ish. In the next couple of chapters. Please review!


	3. Thoughts

**Chapter Three – Thoughts**

* * *

Three shots fired into the green and blue skin of the Caterchipillar, causing it to jerk violently before dying. A BiteBug flew forward to attack, but a sweeping blade stopped it in it's tracks and it fell to the ground, also dead. Laguna and Kiros tucked away their weapons and walked on through the dusty dirt roads of Winhill.

"Thought anymore about Timber Maniacs?" Kiros asked after a minute

Kiros had been staying with Laguna, Raine and Ellone for 2 weeks and Laguna had avoided the subject. Laguna walked on in silence.

"… I don't what to do…" Laguna said quietly

"I thought you wanted this? To become a journalist?" Kiros asked

"I do… It's just…"

"You're afraid." Kiros finished.

Laguna stopped short and looked at Kiros. Kiros continued to walk for a few steps then stopped and turned to look at him.

"What? Afraid?" Laguna asked

"You're afraid of losing Raine and Ellone." Kiros said

"I…"

"It's okay. You love 'em. Like family." Kiros said

"… I guess…" Laguna said.

He loved Raine and Ellone, that was true. He loved Elle as if she was his daughter or maybe a younger sister. But Raine…

"It… It wouldn't hurt to just go talk to him I guess, would it?" Laguna said

Kiros shook his head. The pair continued to walk on. They had just about finished their lunchtime rounds and were on their way back to the Pub. They were passing the old wooden building by the fork in the road when the door opened and an elderly woman in a purple dress appeared.

"Oh… could you gentlemen help me please?" She asked

Laguna and Kiros looked at each other then nodded at her.

"Sure Mrs. Lindi. What d'ya need?" Laguna asked

"Could you please carry those bags of compost around the back for my Geraniums?" She asked

"Of course." Kiros answered.

The pair went over to the pile of compost sacks next to the road and lifted off one of the heavy bags each. They took them around the back of the house and emptied the contents into a small, high-walled, wooden enclosure full of compost. They did this for each of the other 13 sacks and then headed back to the Pub.

They went up to the top-floor and reported to the 'Commander' and 'Asst. Commander' about how well they had done.

* * *

"Thank you for the meal, it was lovely." Kiros said, putting down his knife and fork.

"Thanks Kiros, but you don't have to say that every time." Raine replied, picking up his and her plates and taking them off into the kitchen.

"Ellone, can you help me clear the table?" Raine called from the kitchen

Ellone sighed and took the remaining plates off of the table. She returned from the kitchen a minute later and took away the glasses.

"You told her yet?" Kiros asked Laguna

"…No. Not yet. I wanna wait for the right moment. I don't know how I'm going to tell her." Laguna said

"Tell her what?" Raine asked, wiping her hands on a tea-towel and emerging from the kitchen.

"Err…" Laguna said, looking at Kiros for help.

Raine raised a suspicious at the two of them.

"Laguna, just don't try to lie to me." Raine said, "Now what's going on?"

"Well… I always wanted to be a journalist. And Kiros talked to this guy, who's interested in some new stuff. So I was gonna go talk to him." Laguna explained

"…Oh. I see. Well, if you want to go, then I guess I can't stop you. It's your choice." Raine said, bowing her head.

Ellone appeared behind her.

"Whatcha guys talkin' 'bout?" She asked

"Ellone, talk properly." Raine automatically said, quietly this time though. "It's your bedtime Ellone, come on." Raine said, looking at Laguna then taking Ellone off upstairs.

Laguna and Kiros sat awkwardly in the empty Pub. Since all the men had left, the Pub was never fully busy. Especially in the evenings around dinner-time. More people would come into the Pub in about half-an-hour's time.

"…I'm going to bed." Laguna said and left the Pub.

Kiros sat there in silence.

* * *

Three days later, Kiros and Laguna were ready to leave. It was the morning and were getting ready to set off.

"I'll see ya soon Elle." Laguna said, bending down to look Elle in the face.

"… Why'da have to leave?" Ellone asked sadly

"I gotta go do something. But I'll come back soon, I promise!" Laguna said and gave her a tight hug.

"Bye Uncle Laguna." She said

"Bye Elle." He replied, then stood up and turned to Raine.

"…Good luck, I'll… look for your articles." Raine said

"I'll miss you…" Laguna said,

"Goodbye Laguna, Kiros."

"Goodbye Raine, thank you for your hospitality." Kiros said, bowing a little

"…Bye Raine." Laguna said.

They hugged each other and when they pulled out, Laguna smiled awkwardly at her. Laguna quickly leaned in and kissed her briefly on the lips. Then swung his dark-green bag over his shoulder and walked off, Kiros following him.

Raine watched them leave, delicately touching her lips where Laguna kissed her. Raine smiled a little and ushered Ellone into the Pub.

* * *

There we go, another finished chapter. Finally! I've been working on some other stuff a lot so I havn't had a lot of time for this one. Laguna returns soon! 


	4. Interlude A message from the Author

**Interlude – A message from the Author**

_Hey, sorry it's been a while since I updated. But I've had a lot on and I've been working on other stories more than this one. Also, I've had a bit of writer's block and I realised that there's a lot I wanted to do at the start of this story that I didn't. Many chapters of work I wanted to include and that sort of put me off updating._

_There's things which I think should have gone first and things I think I just skipped over. Moments I wanted to include to build up the story. I tried writing another chapter to continue the story before writing this, but I couldn't. It just didn't flow right and I didn't want to rush things later on only to change them completely when I re-write the story._

_So I have decided to re-write the story now. Well, obviously not all of it at once. But I'm gonna re-start. I'm gonna take my time with it because I felt I rushed it a little and I don't want that. And I realised I don't want part of my story to be rushed and incomplete and the rest of it to suddenly go slowly and be paced like I'm gonna write it (hopefully)._

_I'm just letting you know, so that you don't get confused and incase you were wondering what was going on. I will now be working on the revised version of this story. It feels wierd saying the revised version, when this story only has 3 chapters. But by the time I reach this point in the revised version I should hopefully have many more chapters than this and I will hopefully update more regularly. Since I cannot just have this as an author's note, I shall post a little of what I wrote for this chapter, to carry you on a little until I start the revised version._

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Ellone was sad for a few days after Laguna left them. She didn't really know what to do with herself. She missed him. He was like a big brother or a father she didn't know. He had the same sense of humour and fun as her, but he was also big and strong enough to protect her too - like he had done with the Caterchipillar. She didn't know what games to play. Most of the ones she knew she had played with Laguna and she needed another person to play with. There weren't any other kids in the village she really got on with, and Raine wasn't really the sort of person to play with her like this.

Raine was sad when Laguna left too. As she cleaned the glasses behind the bar, she kept expecting him to run in from one of his patrols and give his report, or to hear him and Elle laughing, playing and running all over the place. He was like a big child, and that was one of things she loved about him. How innocent, yet mature and experienced he was. She hadn't really thought about how she felt about him before he left, but she supposed she had known for a while that she had liked him in that way. He clearly had. The kiss was sudden and very brief, but she didn't care.

Raine went over to the radio and turned it on. She couldn't really concentrate on anything at the moment. The villagers had noticed when they came in for a drink but didn't say anything. None of them really approved of, or liked, Laguna, and didn't really like how Raine was developing an infatuation for him. They thought of it as an infatuation, but to Raine it was much more than that. They hadn't really liked Laguna from the moment he was brought in on death's door, and Raine supposed they thought less of her for taking him in and then letting him stay once he was healed.

A familiar song came on the radio. 'Eyes on Me' by Julia Heartilly. She remembered talking about it to Laguna and Kiros when Kiros first arrived. She loved this song, it was so sweet and romantic. As Raine listened to the song, she couldn't help but think of Laguna even more. She remembered Laguna's eyes just looking into hers and the world almost stopping. The more she thought about it and listened to the song, the more she thought it was perfect for this situation. It was almost as if it could have been written about Laguna. Raine realised that she had been cleaning this particular glass for five minutes and was cleaner than when she had bought it. Putting it away she carried on with her work, trying to get Laguna out of her mind. He was gone now.

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_Okay, VEEEEERY short chapter, but I already explained why. So, until the revised version._


	5. Final Interlude

**Final Interlude – Announcement**

_Author's Note: Okay then, I've (finally) finished the first chapter of the revised version of WFoW, and it will be published minutes after this post is published. I'm sorry it took so long, but I've had loads of work on (which I should really be doing now but everyone needs a break right?) and I've been focusing on my other stories. This summer though I'm hoping to do loads more work on my stories and to finally get them finished. I hate leaving things unfinished._

_Anyway, this is just to say that the first chapter of the revised version is going up, and the story will be called White Flowers of Winhill: Revised. It seems strange to have a revised edition since this one has so few chapters, but hey. So, thank you for all your support in this and I hope you enjoy the re-written version as it is done. And here is an extract of the first chapter of the revised edition for you…_

* * *

A small girl ran through the field of flowers. Her blue, knee-length dress was the same colour as the sky above and her yellow shoes were the same shade as the daffodils in the field. There were a wide variety of flowers in the field, but daffodils were one of her favourite flowers. She had dark brown, cropped hair and dark brown eyes that were full of life. Her name was Ellone.

Although she didn't look it, running through this field excitedly, Ellone was an orphan. A few years previously, her parents had died in the village of Winhill where Ellone still lived. Sorceress Adel had sent Esthar soldiers to look for possible successors and the soldiers tried to take Ellone back to Esthar. Her parents had resisted. They had not wanted to lose their little girl. They shot her father point blank when he confronted them. Her mother had then gone into a wild fit of anguish and grief, and when she stood in the way to prevent them taking Ellone they shot her without mercy also.

Eventually, the Esthar soldiers left without taking Ellone with them. The village had rose up in fury and fought for Ellone's sake. There had been a lot of discussion about what to do with Ellone. It was decided that the family's next-door neighbour, a single woman named Raine, would be given custody. Raine and Ellone's parents had been very close and Raine was more than happy to accept.

Raine lived alone above the bar she owned, and since she had no family she raised Ellone like a daughter. As Ellone grew up over those few years, she thought of Raine as both a big sister and a mother. Ellone remembered nothing of the incident that had taken her parents from her, and she had only fleeting memories of her parents themselves. Raine had given her many photographs, but it wasn't the same. Raine didn't tell her how her parents died, just that they had to go away for a while. But she never hid the fact that she wasn't Ellone's real mother. Raine had vowed to tell Ellone when she was older, but Ellone was far too young at present to know. Too young to comprehend why they had been killed.


End file.
